Lumley Marine received a slap in the face last week when Vero Marine poached three of its top managers, but the company has reassured the market it still intends to have a strong marine presence within the industry.

Lumley CEO David Matcham told Sunrise Exchange News yesterday the company has appointed NSW State Manager – and former Lumley Marine Manager – Martin Clowes to head up the group’s marine operations, and it will move quickly to replace the other managers it lost.

Mr Matcham described Vero’s move to poach the staff – including Marine National Manager Nick Rowley, NSW Marine Manager Michael McClean and Development Underwriter Tyrone Avellano – as an “unfortunate… but clever” move.

Industry observers say the move on Lumley Marine underpins the fact that there is a drought of available talent in the marine insurance industry.

They say the situation is not a new one – it’s just that competition further highlights the lack of professional staff in the relatively small industry sector, which represents about 2% of the Australian industry’s business.